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Reith Lectures

From Quire, the open reference·Series of annual radio lectures broadcast by the BBC·5 min read
The Reith Lectures are named in honour of John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, the BBC's first director-general
The Reith Lectures are named in honour of John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, the BBC's first director-general Image: source and license

The Reith Lectures is a series of annual BBC radio lectures given by leading figures of the day. They are commissioned by the BBC and broadcast on Radio 4 and the World Service. The lectures were inaugurated in 1948 to mark the historic contribution made to public service broadcasting by Lord Reith, the corporation's first director-general.

Reith maintained that broadcasting should be a public service that aimed to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of the nation. It is in this spirit that the BBC each year invites a leading figure to deliver the lectures. The aim is to advance public understanding and debate about issues of contemporary interest.[1]

The first Reith lecturer was the philosopher and later Nobel laureate, Bertrand Russell. The first female lecturer was Dame Margery Perham in 1961.[2] The youngest Reith lecturer was Colin Blakemore, who was 32 in 1976 when he broadcast over six episodes on the brain and consciousness.[3]

The Reith Lectures archive#edit

In June 2011 BBC Radio 4 published its Reith Lectures archive.[4] This included two podcasts featuring over 240 lectures from 1948 to the present day as well as streamed online audio, and the complete written transcripts of the entire Reith Lectures archive:

  • Podcast 1: Archive 1948–1975[5]
  • Podcast 2: Archive 1976–2012[6]
  • Transcripts 1948–2010[7]
  • In pictures[8]

The BBC found that some of the audio archive of the Reith Lectures was missing from its library and appealed to the public for copies of the missing lectures.[4]

The Reith Lectures 1948–2026#edit

1940s#edit

1950s#edit

1960s#edit

1970s#edit

1980s#edit

1990s#edit

2000s#edit

2010s#edit

2020s#edit

Censorship#edit

Rutger Bregman's intended statement in his 2025 lecture that Donald Trump was the "most openly corrupt president in American history" was censored by the BBC upon advice of its lawyers prior to the broadcast.[11] The BBC forbid its staff from quoting the censored line in communication with the media.[12]

See also#edit

Notes#edit

1.^Stephen Hawking's lecture was postponed because of illness.

References#edit

  1. ^ "Radio 4 - The Reith Lectures - About Reith". BBC. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Margery Perham: The Colonial Reckoning: 1961, The Reith Lectures - BBC Radio 4". BBC.
  3. ^ "Colin Blakemore: Mechanics of the Mind: 1976, The Reith Lectures - BBC Radio 4". BBC.
  4. ^ a b "BBC Radio 4 unveils 60 years of Reith Lectures archive". BBC News. 26 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Archive 1948-1975 - The Reith Lectures - Downloads - BBC Radio 4". BBC.
  6. ^ "Archive 1976-2012 - The Reith Lectures - Downloads - BBC Radio 4". BBC.
  7. ^ "BBC - Radio 4 - The Reith Lectures Transcripts 2011".
  8. ^ "In Pictures: The Reith Lectures". BBC News. 2 December 2014.
  9. ^ BBC (2011) "Radio 4 opens The Reith Lectures archive to public", 26 June.
  10. ^ "Stephen Hawking's BBC Reith Lectures postponed through illness". TheGuardian.com. 10 November 2015.
  11. ^ Landler, Mark (25 May 2025). "Dutch Historian Accuses BBC of Censoring Trump Criticism". nytimes.comarchive-url=https://archive.today/20251125211057/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/world/europe/uk-bbc-trump.html. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  12. ^ Michael Savage (27 November 2025). "BBC tells staff they cannot quote Trump line removed from Reith Lecture". BBC News. Wikidata Q137401467. {{Cite Q}}: Missing first/last names in Wikidata for Michael Savage (help)
Categories 1948 establishments in the United Kingdom1948 radio programme debutsAnnual events in the United KingdomBBC Radio 4 programmesBBC World Service programmesBritish lecture seriesRadio-related listsRecurring events established in 19481940s British radio programmes1950s British radio programmes1960s British radio programmes1970s British radio programmes1980s British radio programmes1990s British radio programmes2000s British radio programmes2010s British radio programmes2020s British radio programmes

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